The Genderization of Friendship: Attachment, Touch, and Intimacy

Abstract

Touch has been reported as a significant element of forming secure attachments between mothers and their infants. Furthermore, research suggests that the attitudes toward seeking physical contact with parents at a young age should relate to later patterns of seeking physical contact with people outside the family. However, researchers who study touch in adult relationships have often disregarded potential developmental factors in the formation of attitudes toward touch. This research explores the influence of the divergent development of attitudes toward touch between males and females. Furthermore, it examines how these differing attitudes are portrayed in cross-sex and same-sex adult friendships among men and women.